By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Indian government has started to investigate cause of the deaths of 18 elephants at Kundoli reserve forest area of Assam.
The 18 wild Asiatic elephants were found dead in India’s north-eastern state of Assam on Thursday.
Local officials stated that it could possibly be because of a huge lightning strike that occurred. But the state government ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident on Friday, Assam’s forest and wildlife minister Parimal Suklabaidya said.
“A preliminary report suggests the deaths could be due to lightning although we need to find out through forensic tests if there could be any other reason like poisoning or disease,” the minister added.
“Poisoning could be behind the death of the elephants. We have to wait for the autopsy report, which the forest department will do soon,” prominent conservationist Soumyadeep Datta, from environmental activist group Nature’s Beckon, Datta told AFP news agency.
India is home to nearly 30,000 elephants, about 60 percent of the wild Asiatic elephant population. Of them, Assam is home to an estimated 6,000, who constantly come out of the forests in search of food.
Conservationists have urged the government to prevent encroachment of people and to establish free corridors for the elephants to move between forests safely.
